174. How to Inspire Followership

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In the very first episode of the How to Lead – 2025 Edition series, Julia explores the concept of followership with Ruth Sims, who brings a research-informed perspective to a topic often overlooked in conversations about leading.

Ruth reframes followership as an active choice, not a passive role. You’ll hear why deciding to follow comes before any leader’s bid for attention, how those roles shift constantly in modern organisations, and which leadership missteps like micromanagement, poor communication or lack of direction cause followers to disengage.

Ruth introduces two key dimensions of followership:

Deferral: stepping back, allowing the leader to lead while still engaging and asking clarifying questions.

Support: stepping up to help the leader succeed through effort, advice, feedback, and shared purpose.

Listen to this episode to rethink the assumption that leading is always about being in charge and discover how following well can be just as powerful, intentional, and impactful as leading.

About the Guest

Ruth Sims

An organisational development and communications professional based in Australia with global connections into leadership and followership communities. Dr Ruth Sims brings a unique, research-based and expert understanding of followership and the difference that effective followership can make in your organisation.

About the Host

Julia Middleton

Julia Middleton is the host of the Women Emerging podcast and a best-selling author of “If that’s leading, I’m in” as well as two previous books: “Leading beyond Authority” and “Cultural Intelligence”. She is deeply committed to helping people from all backgrounds to find their own approach to leading.

In 2020, Julia launched Women Emerging and in 2022 she lead an expedition of 24 women to find ‘an approach to leading that resonates with women’. She now leads expeditions with women all over the world based on 4Es methodology, discovered in the first expedition.

Prior to that, Julia was founder and, for over thirty years, Chief Executive of Common Purpose, which grew to become one of the biggest leadership development organisations in the world.
Julia is also an Ambassador for the Aurora Prize based in Armenia, on the boards of Alfanar Venture Philanthropy in the Arab World and Equality Now, which operates globally, and on the Advisory Councils of Fundacao Dom Cabral in Brazil and Synapse in Pakistan.

Born in London and brought up in New York, Julia was educated at French Lycées and graduated from the London School of Economics. She is married, with five children and lots of grandchildren.